Movies Not to Miss: March 2017

Writer: Casey Lee

Which of these are you going to watch?

After two quiet months but already with a few hits of the year, it now finally feels like we have entered into 2017 with the release schedule of March. While we are looking forward to see the sure blockbusters and the many seeds of potential franchises, we finally welcome 2017 and it's time to get busy with these movies that will be coming out this March!

Logan

Set in the near future of the X-Men universe when mutants have not been seen for decades, Logan, formerly known as Wolverine, is living a reclusive life while tending to a dying Professor Xavier. When Logan is approached to help a young mutant who reminds him of himself, Logan is drawn back to his old days.

Marking the 10th movie in the "X-Men" franchise and the third solo outing of the Wolverine character, this will also be the last time that Hugh Jackman brings out the claws as the character that gave him his iconic status. Reuniting with "The Wolverine" director James Mangold for this adaptation of the Old Man Logan comic series, this time it will be a blood-filled adventure with an R rating and since it received a positive reception from the Berlin International Film Festival, it would be a fitting end to an actor's legacy to the franchise.

General Release Date: 2 March

Kong: Skull Island

A secretive organisation known as the Monarchs leads an expedition to a mysterious island, believed to be the birthplace of a new species. Upon arriving, the expedition find themselves prey to creatures known as Skullcrawlers that have decimated the species the Monarch had set out to find, except for one last one.

Universal is taking its new Monsterverse series of movies seriously with "Kong: Skull Island" being a reboot to the "King Kong" franchise, while also being part of the same universe with 2014's "Godzilla". This will be the first major studio outing for director Jordan Vogt-Roberts after his indie Sundance hit "The Kings of Summer", but he will be working on a script written by Dan Gilroy and Max Borenstein. Apart from the titular giant ape, "Kong: Skull Island" will be explored by Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman and Brie Larson, with Terry Notary providing the movements of Kong.

General Release Date: 9 March

Beauty and the Beast

Belle is a woman who lives in a small provincial town who yearns to see the world. When her father is taken prisoner by a beast living in an enchanted castle, Belle offers herself in exchange. As she lives within the castle with the animated servants of the beast, they both learn to love each other. After much success with the live-action adaptation of Disney classics' Cinderella and The Jungle Book, the next in line for the same treatment is the tale as old as time. Emma Watson will star as the beauty but funny girl, while Dan Stevens will disguise under the facade of the Beast as the cursed prince. But the cast list looks much better for the voices of the enchanted objects, starting with Ewan McGregor, Ian McKellen, Emma Thompson, Stanley Tucci and Gugu Mbatha-Raw. Alan Menken returns to compose for this live-action, with the most memorable song sung by Ariana Grande, John Legend, and news songs by Celine Dion and Josh Groban.

General Release Date: 16 March

Life

When a probe returns from Mars containing what could be the first known sample of extra-terrestrial life, the crew on board the International Space Station are tasked to study the new organism. When the organism gains sentience and becomes a threat that could destroy life on Earth, the crew are forced to make hard decisions to purge it before it can reach Earth. While we are all still waiting for "Alien: Covenant" to give our dose of space horrors, we can see another great cast getting massacred in Daniel Espinosa's "Life". Written by the screenwriting duo of Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, the crew will comprise of Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Olga Dihovichnaya.

General Release Date: 23 March

Power Rangers

When five unrelated teenagers are drawn together by a strange spacecraft, they are chosen to be the next Power Rangers, gifted with powers to protect the Earth from evil powers like Rita Repulsa, who arrives on Earth to find the Zeo Crystal. An action hero franchise that many thought had passed its peak with the 1995 feature adaptation, is making a comeback with a new reboot and re-imagination, and also a new cast of young feisty teenagers. "Project Almanac" director Dean Israelite takes the helm in this launching of a potential franchise that seem to have meshed "Chronicle" with some "Transformers", and we are excited to see Elizabeth Banks go full-on evil just as Bryan Cranston is voicing Zordon. As the kids use to say it, 'it's Morphin' time!'.

General Release Date: 23 March

Ghost in the Shell

Led by the Major, Section 9 is a special task force for thwarting cyber criminals and hackers. When a criminal tries to sabotage the artificial intelligence technology of Hanka Robotics, the Major learns about her real past. Met with much fanfare and scepticism since it was announced, it is time for fans of the cyberpunk franchise to see for themselves whether this is a worthy adaptation. Looking past the questionable but not unwelcomed casting of Scarlett Johansson as the Major, with Michael Pitt, Pilou Asbæk, Chin Han, Lasaru Ratuere, Yutaka Izumihara, Tawanda Manyimo and Takeshi Kitano making up the rest of Section 9, all eyes will be looking at how director Rupert Sanders and screenwriters Jamie Moss and Eheren Kruger treat this revered cyberpunk franchise to give it its first live-action adaptation that it deserves.

General Release Date: 30 March

The Boss Baby

When 7-year-old Tim Templeton is introduced to his new baby brother, his place as the centre of his parents' attention is put into jeopardy. While trying to win back his parents' affection from his new baby brother who he has dubbed as the 'Boss Baby', Tim eventually discovers that the Boss Baby is part of a nefarious plan to destabilise all the love in the world. Loosely based on the children's picture book by Marla Frazee, DreamWorks Animation puts a funny corporate spin on the sibling business of gaining parental attention. If Kevin Spacey can be a cat, then Alec Baldwin can be a baby, except that "Boss Baby" feels more affectionate than "Nine Lives". Rounding out the rest of the voice cast is Steve Buscemi as the CEO for which the Boss Baby works for, and Jimmy Kimmel and Lisa Kudrow as the doting parents.

General Release Date: 30 March